Marketing Oregon agriculture with food technology

ODA, OSU combine expertise to help develop products at the Food Innovation Center

by Bruce Pokarney

innovation: n. 1. The act of innovating. 2. Something newly introduced; new method, custom, device, etc.; change in the way of doing things.

Despite the evolution and advancement of food products that has taken place in recent years — including the packaging as well as the products — Dennis Anderson has been both frustrated and opportunistic when it comes to a certain sector of the food industry. He also offers a history lesson while commenting on it.

“Canned food technology hasn’t changed much since the time of Napoleon,” says Anderson.

Maybe not until now.

Anderson is one of the founding partners of Green & Green, Inc. — a Corvallis-based company that is trying to develop and market an innovative processing technology that will capture the fresh flavor and aroma of Oregon fruit in a single-serve bowl. The company is taking advantage of the marketing/industry development connections of the Oregon Department of Agriculture as well as the research and design capabilities of Oregon State University. Fortunately for companies like Green & Green, the appropriate ODA and OSU expertise is co-located at the Food Innovation Center (FIC) in Portland. The food labs within the center are where the Green & Green concept is being “ground truthed,” and where the ideas are turning into reality.

“With the state of agriculture in Oregon right now, it is going to take adaptation, innovation, and collaboration to help producers and processors meet the challenges now and in the future,” says John Szczepanski, ODA assistant director for marketing.

Niche product for the consumer on-the-go

“Oregon has lost many of the big processors of the past,” says Anderson. “We can’t take on the big guys, so we need to target the niche market.”

Anderson and his cohorts are no newcomers to the business. They each have about 30 years of food product development experience. So they know an opportunity when they see one. Utilizing the FIC is giving them a chance to come up with a packaged product that could boost a couple of Oregon commodities needing some help — namely berries and pears.

“Let’s look at today’s consumer,” says Anderson. “A hurried 30-something mom stops at the grocery store on her way home from work. She shops the perimeter of the store as she doesn’t have time to go down each aisle. She is not going to go down the canned food aisle. She picks up an already-roasted chicken, a bag of prepared green salad, a microwavable pasta dish and a jar of alfredo sauce. That’s dinner. Now how about instead of picking up a prepared green salad, she picks up a prepared fruit salad?”

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The product that is being developed is sort of a cross between a canned fruit and a fresh fruit. It can be stored in shelf stable containers for more than 90 days with better quality than a canned berry or pear. The new packaging technology will combine convenience, freshness, and a colorful presentation. It will also provide an outlet for various Oregon fruit growers.

“This product will use pears that right now are in overabundance in Jackson County — the smaller pears that growers are having trouble finding a home for,” says Jerry Gardner, ODA’s business development manager.

It is estimated that if the product gets into full production, more than nine million pounds of pears could be utilized. Some 14 million pounds of Oregon berries could be used.

Testing recipes

OSU’s Sarah Masoni puts on her white lab coat but could almost be mistaken for an executive chef. Spread out on the counter are dozens of small bottles — each a flavor slightly different from the others. Joining Sarah in the test kitchen is Anderson, Joe Flanigan, and Jim Brennan. The job looks fun, but this is serious business. The group is mixing and matching different fruits and flavors — trying to see which will taste the best, which colors will bleed the least, which combination will be the big hit among consumers.

While work is being done at FIC on what goes inside the Green & Green product, there is also considerable effort on the container that will carry the fruit. Clear plastic packaging of single-serve fruit with a convenient, easy opening and re-sealing container suited for on-the-go consumers. That’s what is also being developed at FIC. Another Oregon company, Indepak, is getting in on the act. Indepak has developed computer printer cartridges for Hewlett Packard in Corvallis, now they are helping with the unique fruit bowl container. The idea is to make the entire process an Oregon one. Not only will the fruit be grown and processed locally, but the container will be manufactured in Oregon as well.

It is hoped that a variety of food products can be used with the packaging that is currently being developed for the Green & Green project.

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Investing in agriculture

Like so many Oregon companies, dreams can only turn into realities if there is financial support. Federal specialty crop funds were administered earlier this year by the Oregon Department of Agriculture with guidance from the State Board of Agriculture (see story on page 3). Among the grants: $98,000 for Green & Green. The money is truly an investment in Oregon agriculture in that it could benefit a wide range of interests.

“From a business development standpoint, this is the kind of thing we are looking for in agriculture,” says ODA’s Gardner. “The end product will significantly use Oregon ag commodities in oversupply. The product will be processed here in Oregon. It will help create jobs in the manufacturing sector as the packaging takes place here too.”

Gardner has been drumming up more funding for the project. He has visited pear growers in Jackson, Josephine, and Hood River counties. He has talked to berry growers and processors in the mid-Willamette Valley. Gardner is enlisting their help in lobbying and securing dollars through the Multi-Regional Grant Program — knowing that success for Green & Green will help provide a market for what the fruit growers produce.

The regional investment boards have primarily focused their funds on non-agricultural projects. Gardner hopes to steer more of the money towards agriculture.

“We are trying to get agriculture up to the table in these regions, more than we have in the past,” he says.

Not all the money for such an ambitious endeavor is coming from government. Several hundreds of thousands of dollars are being invested by private interests too.

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Judgment Day

If everything goes according to plan, the innovative fruit bowl from Green & Green could be found in the produce section of your neighborhood grocery store early next year. Much needs to be done before then, including construction of a production line. If the product works out in the Pacific Northwest, it could be expanded nationally — greatly increasing the amount of berries, pears, and other fruit needed. Everyone involved says it is one step at a time.

Anderson and his partners have had great success with similar ventures in the past. They believe Oregon can benefit from this particular project.

“We believe the product line and these unique process and packaging systems have the potential to equal the bagged salad businesses, which we were instrumental in launching with Dole foods,” says Anderson. “That business has increased vegetable volumes nationally by $3.4 billion in only eight years.”

Considering that is nearly the entire value of Oregon’s agricultural production for all commodities, the numbers are impressive.

Collaboration + expertise = Food Innovation Center

The formula is working for Oregon agriculture. When industry combines with OSU and ODA’s Agricultural Development and Marketing Division, positive developments take place.

“The Green & Green project is a good example of what we can do,” says John Henry Wells, superintendent of the FIC experiment station. “OSU has developed a number of very good product concepts and ODA is working with the regions to develop support for long-term business development. A joint project that seeks to develop value-added products from crops grown in Oregon, develop jobs in food manufacturing in Oregon, and engage the plastics manufacturing sector to make the product containers in Oregon. This indeed is a great project that should be highlighted.”

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